Although van Bruggen finds it extremely sad, he also thinks it is quite an achievement that Thomas Cook has gone bankrupt. Van Bruggen is convinced that the travel branch of the ANWB will be able to grow by a third by taking over the market share that Thomas Cook has left behind.

"I cannot imagine that we will have nothing to do with that“, Says the ANWB's chief director and chairman of the Frits van Bruggen Mobility Alliance in BNR Zakendoen. 

The big question is how can it be that such a large company goes down, while we travel worldwide more than ever? Unlike most competitors, Thomas Cook also owns the products they offer such as their own airplanes, hotels and travel agents. That means high fixed costs every month.

The company went online far too late and was left with physical travel shops in the towns and villages for far too long. The consumer has become his own travel agency and no longer needs a travel agency.

While thousands of employees have lost their jobs, stories are now surfacing that executives have been enriched with high bonuses, something the UK government has started investigating.

The facts at a glance

Originally British company Thomas Cook filed for bankruptcy in the United Kingdom on the night of 22 to 23 September. Suddenly this creates a lot of confusion. At that time, more than 600.00 people were on holiday with Thomas Cook, including 10.000 Dutch people.

The SGR does not officially take action until Thomas Cook and Neckermann Reizen have declared their bankruptcy to court, but the foundation has been busy taking all kinds of precautions since September 23. The SGR had also created an emergency number.

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The most popular destination for Thomas Cook customers is Spain. Especially in the Canary Islands and the Balearic Islands, many hotels are affiliated with the British travel organization. The effects will also be significant for Greece. There, too, tens of thousands of tourists who had booked with Thomas Cook are now stranded. Most of them, some 20.000 are in Crete.

Also read: Bus builder Wrightbus has filed for bankruptcy

ANWB Sneek
ANWB Sneek
Thomas Cook
Thomas Cook
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